Indonesian Art Hangs Tough

The Indonesian economy has held up surprisingly well in the global financial crisis. The Jakarta Post looks at the Indonesian art market’s ability to do the same:

The credit crunch and global financial crisis seem to be on another planet to art collectors here. Art Fair 2009 held in conjunction with the Jakarta Art Biennale is business as usual with bustling transactions and not the faintest hint of a financial crash around the corner. Art connoisseur Christiana Gow confidently said the financial crisis was having very little impact on the art market in the country. “No, the financial crisis is something else. I know people who love art as a hobby and an investment and they will go for it even at times when a lot of people say it’s a bad time to buy.”

Besides, she says, like the flipside of a coin, even in a crisis there are people who still can take advantage of the soaring US dollar rate. “Those who have (US) dollars can make windfall gains at times like these,” she said. [ . . . ]

“It’s different from one gallery to another gallery. For now, in one gallery nearly 100 percent of the art works are sold, at other gallery only 1 percent and another its 50 percent,” said Christiana who owns CG Artspace which is located at Plaza Indonesia. The art market is a unique, with unpredictable ups and downs, but this year I am still optimistic that it will have its own impetus among collectors.”